Category: Interviews

Posted on

3 Skills You Can Learn That Will Help You To Manipulate the Interviewer

3 Job Interview Maniplutaion Technqiues

Manipulation is the art of getting other people to do what you want them to do.

In the job interview, all interviewees, attempt to manipulate the interviewer (even if this is subconscious).

This doesnt mean you need to lie.

Manipulation can be positive when used to help you sell your real skills, qualities and experiences.

Set Up Your Own Coaching Business

 Acting Classes

Master manipulators control their emotions.

This is a key skill in a job interview.

First, for many fear and anxiety take over. As well as requiring the skills to reduce this negative associated response to an interview, you need to take this one step further and act like a confident, charismatic and enthusiastic career professional.

Actors are skilled in controlling their emotions.

They can cry on cue, take on the persona of a confident business billionaire or if the part requires it, come across as lovable, charming and friendly.

By being able to create a character in the job interview you can manipulate the interviewer so they believe that this is your natural state.

If your nervousness and fear, are letting you down, join an acting class.

Debate Clubs

Successful career professionals manipulate the job interview with their ability to think on their feet, to reframe negative comments and to passionately fight their own corner.

Manipulators as well as interviewees need to be compelling in their argument to convince others.

Many interviewees fall into the trap of being defensive – this natural strategy will only end in no job offers. Instead learn to debate, persuade and influence with your communication skills.

Interview questions and answers

Code Reading

Have you ever been surprised after, what you presumed was a successful job interview, that you weren’t offered the desire position?

In the job interview, it is easy to get caught up in ourselves, especially as our energy is spent finding examples to the interview question.

It is this internal focus that creates only one perspective.

Code readers, on the other hand, have the ability to focus on their audience, responding to little cues and tells.

People give away so much when you know what to look for. As we said in the 73 rules for influencing the interview, once you understand what simple gestures, body language and the words people use, you can use these “tells” to change your story to influence and manipulate what the employer thinks about you.

Posted on

How to Con the Interveiwer and Get Away With It

The Interview Con

To con the job interviewer (well anyone really) you need to promise them something of great benefit.

In the job interview this is how you will double there profit, decrease overheads or gain them millions of pounds in new business.

The bigger the benefit the better.

In the job interview stress how easy it is for you, the star employee, to achieve this. Explain how this system is something you successful implemented in your last organisation. Explain how the cost for this system is low or none at all, it’s about the knowledge or contacts that you have, that you are happy to share with them.

Set Up Your Own Coaching Business

Sweep aside the Skeptics

Depending on how you frame the “Great Bennett”  some employers will be skeptic.

You need to get the interviewer to commit to you. When someone commits to you, even if this commitment is only a small commitment they are psychologically more likely to commit to something bigger.

In the interview you ask the skeptic interviewer that if were able to double their profits would they recruit you? Every interviewer will answer yes to this.

Sweeten the pot.

Share a piece of advice, a contact or something that shows that you have something that would benefit the organisation. This will create interest and desire.

Create Positive Visualizations

Ask how if you were to be successful in the job interview and if you were to implement your success strategy how would this benefit the company?

Get the interviewer to imagine you both collaborating together and get them to imagine how your strategy/contacts along with what the organisation is currently doing would together take their profits to the next level.

The more you influence the interviewer to imagine you and them being successful the more they will buy into you.

At this stage you may want to return to the commitment stage, offering a few more sweeteners.

Interview questions and answers

Create Desire

The interviewer now, will be imagining how they will benefit from you being hired. Not only will they want to recruit you they will want you on their team.

You will hear the language the interviewer subconsciously uses go from the language of a skeptic to the language of desire.

They will want to offer you the job on the spot, but employment law won’t allow this.

To keep the flame burning once you leave the interview, explain that you have already been offer another job that you are highly interested in.

Scarcity is a massive motivational pull, as people always want what they cant have.

If the employer see’s massive value in you but then realises that a competitor make snatch you up, their desire for you will triple.

Not only will you be offered the position, you will now be in a strong position to negotiate a high salary.

Posted on

How To Build a Positive Relationship With Your Interviewer in Minutes

Build a Positive Relationship With Your Interviewer in Minutes

A positive relationship is the key to a successful relationship.

The problem, of course, is you only have a few minutes to get the employer to like you.

The interviewer’s perspective of you is key because all of your following answers will be filtered through your recently built, positive or negative, relationship.

These 3 steps will help create a positive relationship with your interviewer, within minutes of walking into the interview room

Set Up Your Own Coaching Business

The Power of a Smile

The first step is so simple it’s stupid.

But the fact is that most interviewees aren’t relaxed enough to smile.

A smile is powerful because of 3 reasons.

The first is that you look confident and friendly when you smile – your smile is your best feature. When you smile, due to mirror neurons, the interviewer will feel the same happy emotions they would feel if they were smiling themselves.

Secondly, when you smile you come across as approachable and trustworthy; this allows the interviewer to open up to you because they feel relaxed in your presence.

Thirdly. It has been proven that you are seen as more attractive when you smile. And it’s also been proven that you are more likely to be offered the position is the interviewer finds you attractive.

Engage the Interviewer

At the interviewer start, ask the interviewer questions, ideally about them-self.

This is easier than it seems, you simply at the interview start make small talk.

You can ask about the number of interviews they have planned on that day, you can follow this by asking what they are going to do that night to relax? It’s at this point that you need to ask questions and show interest in the interviewer’s answers.

Naturally, we love to be the focus of attention. We also love the people who show us this attention and will want to be around them more often.

Interview questions and answers

Address the Interviewer By Name

Like the first step, this third suggestion is really easy to implement and helps to influence the interviewer.

People respond better to people who use their name.

Using the interviewer’s name shows that you are interested, you have remembered their name and it helps to create a bond between the two of you.

Psychologically speaking, the interviewer will like you more if you both share a similar sounding name.

This same natural likability factor works with anything you have in common; name, went to the same school, follow the same sports team, live in the same district when you were young.

Posted on

How To Influence The Interviewers Thoughts

How To Influence The Interviewers Thoughts

Influencing others is an important skill to have especially in a job interview.

Being able to persuade people with words can have a massive impact on the outcome of the job interview.

What you say in the job interview creates a picture in the interviewer’s mind, this internal image feeds the interviewer’s emotional response and it is that emotional response, that gut feeling that has a direct impact on the interview outcome.

Even two sentences with the same meaning can create different responses. The key here is to pick your words carefully.

Set Up Your Own Coaching Business

 The Glass is Half Full or Half Empty

This common saying makes my point clear.

The glass, either half full or half empty, holds the same volume of liquid, but the way you phrase the quantity of water creates a different perspective.

When answering your interview question you need to frame your interview answers in the positive. Imagine you tell the employer that you worked at X organisation, the employer looks disgusted and says “isn’t everyone who works there lazy?” you can easily reframe this response by responding with “yes, that why i want to work for an organisation like yours where you value hard workers like me”  

Using Pain to Create Desire

A big mistake most interviewees make in the interview is not creating a painful story.

Because you are selling yourself, you, the interviewee, believe that you have to state everything in the positive. In most situations you do. But when asked to give an example, stay away from the temptation to explain how you did X with success.

Have you ever been to a movie and the whole film was positive?

The storyline simply being the good things that happen to the main character? No, because people like suspense, we want to be taken on a journey, even though we know the film will have a good ending, we still want to hear about heartache, the problems – we like suspense.

For your interview answer to influence, to have a bigger impact tell a story.

Explain the problem that you were face with and the consequences if you fail. Build suspense, even lower your tone.

Create a story of pain, before you, the superhero of the story comes to the rescue and saves the day.

Interview questions and answers

Pick Power Words

‘Tell me about yourself? ‘ This commonly asked question can either persuade or put off the employer.

The words you choose to use to describe yourself will positively or negatively influence the interviewee, even when the meaning of the word is the same.

This is because all words have different levels of emotional intensity

Say these words out loud and notice how they make you feel different even though the meaning of the word is the same;

  • I’m a good team player or I’m an excellent team player
  • I try my best or I put my all into everything I do
  • dedicated or loyal 
  • responsible or follow rules 
  • goal setter or goal achiever 
  • ideas or innovative 
  • enjoy or passionate 

Posted on

3 Things Not To Do After The Job Interview, Because It Will Stop You Getting The Job

3 Things Not To Do After The Job Interview

The job interview itself is hard, unnerving and scary.

The interview end, isn’t the end of it. Your actions now are just as important as your actions during the job interview.

Don’t mess up your chances of a job offer but making one of these 3 simple mistakes.

Set Up Your Own Coaching Business

Need Help to Pass Your Next Job Interview?

You can book an ONLINE Interview Coaching Session and/or a Mock Interview with an interview coach by e-mailing employmentking@gmail.com all you need is a webcam.

  • Learn The 3 Step Process for Killer Interview Answers 
  • Double Your Interview Confidence with Specialised Techniques  
  • Mock Interview – Get Really Feedback on Your Interview Skills 

Post Job Interview Mistake 1

Don’t add the interviewer on social media.

It is easy to think “hey, lets add the interviewer on facebook, we could become friends, go for drinks…and you could offer me the job” This is the worst of mistakes.

Not only do people forget who they have on facebook and its this forgetfulness that will get you into trouble. You or even a friend may post a damaging photo of you on a night out.

Even your friends opinions, which good be racist, sexist or plain rude can be associated with you.  A drunken night out could end you chatting on a public forum about the horrid interviewer, or your potential boss may see from your timeline that you are applying for a better job.

Keep interviewers to the interview and your friends to facebook.

Post Job Interview Mistake 2

Waiting for the job offer

Most people are lazy. It takes most up to 3 months to even start applying for work “I will do it tomorrow “is the morning mantra. In worst, research has shown that on average an interviewee will spend only a total of 45 minutes preparing for the job interview – only 45 minutes for a task that could change your career and your life!!

Post job interview, the lazy interviewee will simply sit on their hands waiting for the job offer (that may never come) Never hold out for one job, apply for many, learn from interview mistakes, and practice, practice and practice.

Interview questions and answers

Post Job Interview Mistake 3

Pester the hiring manager

It can be good practice to send a post interview thank you email (not always the best advice) Some take this to another level, sending flowers, chocolates as well as 25+ emails. Not only will this make you look a bit creepy but will annoy the interviewer.

Be confident in your interview delivery.  The only post intervene task you should spend time on is your job interview self reflection and applying for new positions.

Posted on

Manchester Interview Coach Shares Expert Advice

Manchester Interview Coach Shares Expert Advice

Job interviews have a bad reputation.

Everyone believes that the interviewer is out to get you, that each interview question has a hidden meaning.

People wrongly believe that the interviewer will be looking down at you, searching for weaknesses and wanting, when they can, to trip you up, to catch you and to find fault with your answer.

In most interviews, the truth is, the interviewer wants to help and encourage you to give the best answer, they search for  strengths and ask question to uncover your skills and experience. The interviewer isn’t trying to trip you up , instead they have a desire to help you relax, to allow you to open up and to encouraging you to be yourself.

As an interview coach I want to share my expertise to help you pass your next job interview

Set Up Your Own Coaching Business

 Job Interview Advice 1 Power Play

The interview is seen by some as a power play, with the interviewer being the stronger player, the one with all the power.

The problem with this common perspective is that you the interviewee we naturally feel weak , in this state you will never give the best answer, you will never sell yourself and you truly cant be you (key to any interview success).

To get the feeling of power back, which will help you to relax and act like you normally do, you need to, at the interview start is ask the interviewer questions.

It doesn’t matter what these questions are “have you been interviewing all day?” “what do you think of the weather today?” just ask questions as this will do two things. One it will get you in the flow of talking and when the interviewer answers, you will feel more relaxed. And two, you will come across as a confident person.

Job Interview Advice 2 Describe how you feel

When asked an interview question it is really easy to fall into the logical answer game, where the interviewee gives only facts.

There is a time and place for this type of answer in all job interviews, but you have to balance this out with an emotional answer.

Most employers recruit candidates based on that “gut feeling” and people know enthusiastic and passionate colleagues make the best workers. By expressing how positive you felt when you achieved X, you will make emotional connections with the interview panel, winning you some extra points

 Job Interview Advice 3 Give the employer a gift

I know this sounds weird, and I don’t mean a present or thank you card.

Throughout the interview you need to show how you will add value to the organisation. When answering a key question give the interviewer a gift by sharing your expertise. This could be sharing a new sector tender opportunity, giving real advice on increasing profit/decreasing overheads – maybe you have a successful system that the employer could easily implement.

It doesn’t matter what the gift is, what’s important is that the interviewer can see that you will add value to their organisation.

Posted on

3 Job Interview Mistakes Every Candidate Makes

Don’t Make These Common Candidate Mistakes.

Everyone finds job interviews difficult.

With many task and activities an even split of people find the task difficult while the rest seem to have a natural ability.

Job interviews on the other hand are feared by everyone. But why? Applicants make common mistakes in the job interview environment, once you know these common mistakes, you can change your approach to the job interview, creating job interview success.

 Job Interview Mistake 1

45 minutes!!!!

One average, the nervous interviewee, spends on average just 45 minutes preparing for the job interview. Whereas successful interviewees, the interviewees who receive more job offers then the average interviewee, will spend, on average, 7-8 hours preparing for the job interview.

The problem is people fear job interviews.  This fear creates procrastination and procrastination creates inactivity, leading to an average of 45 minutes of interview prep. To master any skill, you need repetition.

Practice does make perfect. Prepare by learning about the values of the organisation, the company mission and understand the job criteria.

It is the company values, mission and job criteria that make up the job interview questions. Prepare answers for each of these potential questions and practice your answer(s) over and over again.

Job Interview Mistake 2

Say it with emotion

We all know that communication isn’t just words. Tone, diction, gestures and facial expressions make up 80% of communication.

Knowing this, why is it that most interviewees and prepare and deliver answers focusing on the structure and words of the interview answer.

To win over the interviewer practice and deliver winning job interview answers using tonality, facile expressions, body language, gestures and diction to increase the impact of your interview answer.

Job Interview Mistake 3

Focus on the interviewer not your answers

We all have an internal focus when it comes to the job interview. This internal focus, often the negative self talk you give yourself prior to going into the interview, is a deflection.

Instead, when you focus on the emotional impact you want the interviewer to feel, you will create a different impact. This is because your attention creates a new action, a new impact and a new interview outcome.

Posted on

How to Create Job Interview Success In a Few Easy Steps

How to Create Job Interview Success In a Few Easy Steps

Everyone I meet believes that the job interview is this scary, hard, difficult situation.

In fact, the job interview, is easy – easy to manipulate, easy to sell yourself and easy to secure a job offer.

To be successful in the job interview follow these 3 easy steps:

Set Up Your Own Coaching Business 

 Job Interview Success 1

People purchase items only with the desired criteria.

If you wanted to go on holiday, you wouldn’t choose any old destination. Instead you will have a list of criteria; a beech, warm weather and a good night life.

Interviewers act in the same way. They want to purchase an interview with certain criteria. This isn’t simple experience or a qualification. Often interviewers recruit a certain persona, temperament or attitude.

Research the type of person the employers wants, and explain and show how you meet this particular criteria.

Job Interview Success 2

Charm

Why is that some people get all the girls (or boys)?

Even the individuals who aren’t that good looking, time and time again, get the dates. What is this strange phenomenon? What is the secret?

People like, no love, others who are confident and charming, those that ooze charisma

Believe in yourself, sell yourself and be totally confident and charming…and the interviewer will fall in love with you.

Job Interview Success 3

Create emotional responses

Interviewers (and people in general) make choices based on their emotions.

Turn the interview into an emotional roller-coaster; use examples filled with intrigue, create suspense and design your interview answer with a  Disney style happy ending, where you eventually, after the odds were against you, have a happy ending

Posted on

3 Interview Confidence Tricks

3 Job Interview Confidence Tricks

Confidence is the key to job interview success.

The nervous, timid and anxious interviewee lacks rapport, struggles to get their point across and often comes across weak and pathetic.

As well as preparing your interview answers you need to prepare your job interview confidence.

Set Up Your Own Coaching Business 

Job Interview Confidence 1

Pro-activeness not procrastination

In the weeks leading up to the job interview you need to prepare your interview answers. Start by improvising what you would say, knowing at this stage that you will make mistakes.

After each rehearsal, reflect and edit your script. This pro-activeness increases memory. When asked a question, the answers will flow.

Many failed interviewees will replace pro-activeness with procrastination. The fear of the job interview stops them preparing which can only lead to interview failure.

Job Interview Confidence 2

Deep Breathing

The easiest, and most effective way to decrease nervous and increase confidence is with deep breathing.

By breathing in deeply in, lifting your whole diaphragm, holding it for a few seconds before releasing the breath you will naturally  calm down. If you repeat this 3-5 times your interview anxiety will disappear.

Job Interview Confidence 3

Become an Actor

People, generally, don’t like to talk about themselves. Worst then that, rarely does an individual like to state out loud their strengths and qualities.

To overcome this imagine being an actor. Play a part – a more confident version of yourself. Change your stance, so you stand like the confident person you are playing. Actors perform their best when they feel the emotions they want to express with their performance. Feel the confidence you will express when you play this role in the job interview

By focusing on confidence, you will feel more confident.

Posted on

3 Tricks to Influence the Interview

3 Tricks to Influence the Interview

The job interview is a tricky arena, where everyone is competing for the job offer.

Who gets the job, isn’t always the best job applicant. In fact interviewers are easily influence, so the best interviewee is the one who knows how to influence the job interview.

Everyone of us is influenced on a daily basis – most of us don’t realise this. We are influenced by anything from brand advertising to social proof. You can use these same techniques and make them relevant to the job interview.

Set Up Your Own Coaching Business

Influence The Interview Trick 1

You don’t even have to be an expert to win job interviews you just need to come across as an expert – what is an expert anyway?

It is just someone who can remember more about one subject or niche than others, so all you have to do is show you have this in-depth knowledge (don’t worry you will learn how to remember vast amounts of information later using the Memory palace technique)

If you’re passionate about the career and the industry you have chosen or you just want to pass your job interview, you need to become an Industry Expert and you can become an expert or sound like an expert in just one week.

An industry expert will have extensive knowledge about your career sector, the leading companies in this industry and the industry jargon employer’s use.

7 Quick Steps to Cheat the Interview and become an Industry Expert in just One Week:

Use A Search Engine:

Open a web search engine such as Google and in the search box write “Your industry name” and “Job profile” example “Web Designer Job Profile.” Once you open a Job Profile, go down to the bottom of the page, as you will find links to industry websites such as the sector skills council websites. These websites are valuable and record a large amount of information and can be used to research the industry and future job trends.

Match Your Skills to Your Career:

The job profile will also record the job duties, skills and qualities often required by employers. Highlight the skills and qualities you already possess and the duties you would enjoy undertaking if you were employed in this role. If you have highlighted at least 80% of these, you have found an industry that you should excel in, as the job duties already match the motivational part of your personality. While answering interview questions give examples of the skills you possess that are recorded on the job profile

Set up Industry Alerts:

Set up Google alerts to receive relevant daily news feed, blog articles and website updates on the industry you are interested in applying for. You need to search for the following on Google Alerts then read and quote interesting and relevant aspects during your interview.

[Insert Job Title] News

E.g. Marketing Assistant/Accounts Manager/ Graduate Internship News

[Insert Job Industry] Industry News

E.g. Marketing /Accountancy/ Publishing/ Hospitality and Catering Industry News

[Insert Job Industry] New Contracts and Funding

E.g. Social care/Financial Services/ Beauty/ Public Services New Contracts and Funding

Twitter:

Follow “Industry” tweets to receive industry news feeds, industry job adverts and updates. Set up an “Industry” list. After a while Industry twitterers will search and add to you. Use twellow to search for twitters by industry. Don’t be afraid to ask tweet questions to these people – even asking answers to potential interview questions, twitterers love to reply to tweets, they will feel flattered that you have picked them.

Social Network Sites:

The social network sites for businesses is growing, join 3 of these such as linkedin and join industry forums, discussions and join in asking questions around the industry growth and decline and learn the meaning of industry jargon. Set up your own online industry profile-this needs to be a professional, polished page.

Ask Facebook:

On Facebook search for “Friends” under “Co-workers”, searching for them typing in their company name. You can befriend people working in your industry and then ask them questions or ask them to complete a questionnaire or poll – social networkers are normally keen to respond to this.

Network:

Attend industry network events, always dress smart and be prepared to distribute your business card to other professionals. This is a great chance to update your industry information and meet industry leaders. Many job hunters establish productive links in this way and gain offers of employment or inside knowledge of when recruitment is upcoming.

Influence The Interview Trick 2

Confident handshake

A handshake like all body language gives away how you are feeling – nervous or confident?

And employers prefer to offer jobs to confident interviewees. Employers are not taught what a certain handshake represents but unconsciously your handshake and body language will give clues to the employer’s subconscious mind.

If your Palm is facing up this can be taken as a sign of submission

A palm facing down can be taken as aggressive

A palm facing sideways is taken as a sign of equality

If an interviewer uses the Palm Facing down handshake (aggressive)on you, you can counter this by putting your second hand on top of their hand and slowly turning their Palm up (this needs lots of practicing for it to look natural)

Employers will probably not remember the handshake itself, they remember the unconscious image they create of you from the handshake, just like our body language gives non verbal clues, and so does your handshake.

What makes a good handshake? A firm grip, eye contact and an up-and-down movement. Now you know what makes a good handshake, don’t fall into the trap of stupidity and make a common handshake mistake:

The Bone Grinder

Don’t turn a handshake into a competition to see who is the strongest.

The Extended Handshake – a nervous interviewee will be pre-occupied with making a good impression and overcoming their nervous, that they will forget to let go of the interviewer’s hand.

Slippery Eel

Again this one can often happen to nervous interviewees, the more nervous we become the more we sweat, remember to sneakily wipe your hands before the handshake.

Influence The Interview Trick 3

Question the questioner

Throughout the interview, when asked a question you will end each interview answer with a summary relating back to the original question, highlighting one of your unique selling points, creating a mini loop from the opening of the answer (answering the question in the first line) to the question end (the summary)

At the interview end when you’re requested to ask the interviewer any questions, ask a few planned questions and then end the meeting by summing up the whole interview. Use this point to emphasize your unique selling points, creating a persuasive loop from the interview beginning (tell me about yourself – question) to the interview end (do you have any question for me – question)

Summaries in a way that seems to the interviewer that you have just decided to say this rather than the interviewer knowing you have planned a summary. You can see examples throughout this book where I have referred to earlier techniques, in later chapters to reinforce the importance of several Rules of Influence.

In your end of interview summary you need to:

  • Highlight your selling points
  • Show your enthusiasm
  • Confirm how well you would fit in with the job/working for their company

You need to summarise after you have asked the interviewer several job related questions and to make this statement sound like it is unplanned “off the cuff”

Example

“I just like to say, I’m really excited about everything you have told me about the company, I know my experience will fit in well with your company and I am already thinking of several ideas that will help us sell x”